Spain and Portugal Itinerary - input
 

We are a group of 5 older adults looking to plan a trip to Spain and Portugal in mid May. Main interests are general sightseeing, dining, and shopping. We generally prefer bigger and bustling areas over smaller, desolate places where we feel like the only tourists there (yes, odd preference I know). Currently have about 10-12 days allotted but can add more days if needed. We will be departing from the USA and have a flexible budget. Here's what I'm thinking so far:

1. Arrive into Lisbon, Portugal. Given the more Western location, it would make getting into the Iberian peninsula a bit easier. Had thought about flying in and out of Madrid (avoiding Lisbon) but don't like the idea of having to circle back to Madrid again at the end and spending on a hotel for the night prior to departing. Could fly out of Seville to USA but seems like the route is long with more connections.
   
2. Stay in Lisbon for 3 days (+/- 1 day)
   
3. Fly to Seville (wouldn't mind paying for nonstop flight)
   
4. 3-4 days in Seville with a day trip to Cordoba
   
5. Optional: train to Granada and stay 2 days there to mainly visit the Alhambra. Concern is time and fatigue with traveling there, checking in/out of another hotel, and costs. Hence, thinking of dropping this. Plus, Seville seems larger than Granada which my group may prefer over.
   
6. Train to Madrid from Seville and stay for 3 days; possible day trip to Toledo
   
7. Depart Madrid back to USA.
   

Any thoughts on the above? Does this feel rushed or disconnected? Clearly we wouldn't get a deeper feel for Portugal as we wouldn't be seeing Porto and the Algarve region but I think they'd be okay saving that for another trip. We're skipping Barcelona since many in the group have already been there before.

Thanks!

Deleted because I misread the original.

If it were my trip, and it's not, I would omit Lisbon from this trip (and I love Lisbon) and make this an all Andalucia and Madrid trip. Personally, I can't imagine going to Andalusia and not seeing the Alhambra, which is amazing and one of the most beautiful and impressive sites I have seen. Your current itinerary does seem disconnected to me. But perhaps our travel style is different. I like to see a "complete" region when I travel. For instance, if you omit Granada, do you think you would return some day to Andalucia to see the Alhambra? If so, it doesn't make sense to skip it now. Another reason to concentrate on Madrid and Andalucia is to save time traveling and time is precious.

Where is your home airport in the US? Have you checked open-jaw flights into and out of Madrid and Seville? We live in MA, and flew into Marseille when we visited Andalucia (this was a combined France/Spain trip) and we flew home (Boston) from Seville with a layover in Lisbon. Our friends who were with us were on different flights and had a layover in Madrid.

So, with this in mind, a possible itinerary could be:
Madrid - 4 nights
Cordoba - 2 nights (I think Cordoba is best appreciated when spending a night or two)
Granada - 2 nights (In addition to the Alhambra, there is the cathedral, Albaysin neighborhood to explore, and a nighttime visit to the Alhambra)
Seville - 4 nights (hopefully fly home from Seville) so you don't have to backtrack to Madrid

If open-jaw Madrid/Seville is prohibitive and/or flights home are too long and too complicated, you could fly in and out of Madrid. I know that some people do that, and they take a train when they land in Madrid to their first destination, such as Cordoba. Then put all of your Madrid days at the end of your trip. This does make your arrival day a long day.

Thanks so much for your input! Several of us will be departing from different locations in the USA (e.g., one will be flying from East Coast, others from the Midwest) - so coordinating our flights will be a bit tricky. I'm exploring the possibility of having everyone fly into Seville first (or Madrid) to focus on Andalucia.

I agree with your sentiment about the Alhambra but worry about the frequent hotel check in/out and traveling from multiple places as many in the group are older and would get exhausted with this (they would enjoy a more relaxed pace). I am thinking of a private tour group that could pick us up in Seville and take us to Alhambra for a day but I understand the commute would be long. We wouldn't explore Granada in this case and solely focus on Alhambra.